please help me to get some head start into this program

[tvss]

In a given string WAP to count the number of vowels (single char), consonants (single char), digits (single digit), whitespace, special symbols, words (multiple char) and numbers (multiple digits). Now sort the same strings in the ascending order of counts.
NOTE : 1. Do not use any additional array.
2. No inbuilt string function can be used.
3. Use separate function for User Input, count and sorting (pass by reference).
Sample Input/output
Input :
this is cp 2 for 2 year students .
Output:
vowels (single char) 0
consonants (single char) 0
digits (single digit) 2
whitespace 7
special symbols 1
words (multiple char) 6


Sorted string
2 2 . is cp for students this year

[laserlight]

What have you tried?

[tvss]

actually m new to pointers....it says not to use additional arrays...i dont know how we can do without using additional array...

[AndrewHunter]

actually m new to pointers....it says not to use additional arrays...i dont know how we can do without using additional array...

Well, in that case you may find some value in Prelude's pointer tutorial.

[MK27]

Sounds like a "state machine". The idea is you step thru the data a byte at a time, and use a variable to keep track of what's happening.

[edit: This is for extracting data from the string. You can use a similar method if you are just counting different kinds of items, see the next few posts.]

#include <stdio.h>

enum {
	NONE,
	NUMBER,
	WORD,
};

int main() {
	int state = NONE;
	char input[] = "one 234 @#$garbage!! five 17\t okay", 
		*p = input, *start = NULL;

	while (*p) {
		if (state == NONE) {
			if (*p >= '0' && *p <= '9') state = NUMBER;
			else if ((*p >= 'a' && *p <= 'z') 
			  || (*p >= 'A' && *p <= 'Z')) state = WORD;
			start = p++;
			continue;
		}
		if (*p <= ' ' && start) {
			*p = '\0';
			if (state == NUMBER)
				printf("number: %s\n", start);
			else printf("word: %s\n", start);
			state = NONE;
		}
		p++;
	}
	if (state == NUMBER)
		printf("number: %s\n", start);
	else if (state == WORD) printf("word: %s\n", start);

	return 0;
}

That probably needs some elaboration, eg, notice it handles one kind of mistake but not another:

word: one
number: 234
word: garbage!!
word: five
number: 17
word: okay

Hopefully the basic idea is clear. You need to understand ASCII for this:

http://www.asciitable.com/

[CommonTater]

actually m new to pointers....it says not to use additional arrays...i dont know how we can do without using additional array...

Actually you don't need pointers to examin an array... whenever possible use the built in array indexing... arr[index].

For example...

char string[] = "This is a test string";
int x = strlen(string);
int i;

for (i = 0; i < x; i++)
  printf("%c", string[i];

Pointers should not be used when simpler mechanisms exist.

[MK27]

Actually you don't need pointers to examin an array... whenever possible use the built in array indexing... arr[index].

Pointers should not be used when simpler mechanisms exist.

So you are saying this:

char value = string[i];
char *address = &string[i];  <- pointer in disguise

is simpler than:

char value = *p;
char *address = p;

I gotta disagree, but it is not much more than a matter of style. I think saying "you should not use pointers to examine an array" is an excessive caveat. What if I want to save my place (ala the "start" pointer in my previous post)? Do I then use:

int start;
start = i;
printf("%s", &string[start]);

I guess that's fine, but I don't see how it is "simpler", and I also don't think you are avoiding pointers with that, you are just disguising them with &.

Pointers are simple, once you understand what they are, and are one of the most fundamental and powerful tools in C programming. Beyond "hello world" they're totally essential, IMHO.

[CommonTater]

So you are saying this:

char value = string[i];
char *address = &string[i];  <- pointer in disguise

... Is almost certainly unnecessary in this case.

He can simply use array indexing to examine the string. He does not need pointers in this case... 10-4?

[MK27]

He can simply use array indexing to examine the string. He does not need pointers in this case... 10-4?

10-99: My bad. I just noticed this is about counting, not extraction. For extraction, you must use a pointer somewhere.

[Libpgeak]

Well think about the getch() function. It returns single characters, so we don't need the string. Every time we press a button, we directly look up what it is, and raise the variable. Global, I think of somthing like this:


////variables
int whitespace;
etc.

        while((c=getch())!=\n)
        {
                 if(c=" ")                                                         //i don't now for sure if this is the right ascii notation off a whitespace
                           whitespace++;
}
printf("well, you typed %d whitespaces",whitespace);

For a capital, see your ascii tabel. Note that this is just a global idee, and the code is absolutly nonsens. It's just a example of your global architecture

[CommonTater]

10-99: My bad. I just noticed this is about counting, not extraction. For extraction, you must use a pointer somewhere.

Why? char c = arr[27]; is perfectly valid...

[AndrewHunter]

Well think about the getch() function. It returns single characters, so we don't need the string. Every time we press a button, we directly look up what it is, and raise the variable. Global, I think of somthing like this:


////variables
int whitespace;
etc.

        while((c=getch())!=\n)
        {
                 if(c=" ")                                                         //i don't now for sure if this is the right ascii notation off a whitespace
                           whitespace++;
}
printf("well, you typed %d whitespaces",whitespace);

For a capital, see your ascii tabel. Note that this is just a global idee, and the code is absolutly nonsens. It's just a example of your global architecture

Stay away from global variables as they can introduce problems you are not suspecting and in general are considered bad programming practice. Additionally, getch() is non standard and should be avoided since it does not produce reliable code which can be compiled on all compilers.

[TheBigH]

Well think about the getch() function. It returns single characters, so we don't need the string. Every time we press a button, we directly look up what it is, and raise the variable. Global, I think of somthing like this:


////variables
int whitespace;
etc.

        while((c=getch())!=\n)
        {
                 if(c=" ")                                                         //i don't now for sure if this is the right ascii notation off a whitespace
                           whitespace++;
}
printf("well, you typed %d whitespaces",whitespace);

For a capital, see your ascii tabel. Note that this is just a global idee, and the code is absolutly nonsens. It's just a example of your global architecture

Careful! Your code should actually read

while((c=getch())!='\n')
        {
                 if(c==' ')                                                         //i don't now for sure if this is the right ascii notation off a whitespace
                           whitespace++;
}
printf("well, you typed %d whitespaces",whitespace);